Manchester STAR and Amnesty will tonight hold a Sleep-out on Oxford Road to campaign against the destitution of asylum seekers.
Thousands of asylum seekers are living in extreme poverty or destitute in Britain. Some are supported by the government, but simply do not receive enough to meet their basic needs, and others have been refused asylum and receive no support at all.
There are an estimated 2,000 destitute asylum seekers and refugees in Greater Manchester – and students, local community members, refugees and Labour MP Kate Green – will tonight turn out to call for changes to Government policies that force people into this situation.
This follows the release of a disturbing report by British Red Cross that a humanitarian crisis is gripping Greater Manchester and has left many of the area’s most vulnerable people homeless and destitute for more than a decade.
The Sleepout begins at 7.30pm, at Manchester Universities’ Catholic Chaplaincy (Opposite the Students’ Union, 355 – 359 Oxford Road). Featuring speeches from: Dave Smith of the Boaz Trust; Kate Green MP; the United for Change coalition. Plus music from Sobi, Oh Man, the Mountain and more.
For further information, contact Estelle Worthington, Regional Asylum Activism Project, on 0755 798 3264, or email: [email protected]